Jennison Associates LLC Sells 3,857 Shares of Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Jennison Associates LLC reduced its position in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 28.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,478 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,857 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $4,135,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Moody’s by 1,866.7% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 59 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Birchwood Financial Partners Inc. acquired a new position in Moody’s during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC bought a new stake in Moody’s in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Down 3.2%

MCO stock opened at $489.25 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.07, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.34. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $462.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $465.09. Moody’s Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $402.28 and a fifty-two week high of $546.88.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.22 by $0.11. Moody’s had a net margin of 31.69% and a return on equity of 70.97%. The company had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.83 earnings per share. Moody’s’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total transaction of $665,533.89. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 52,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,846,709.88. This represents a 2.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total value of $71,679.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 1,985 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $900,534.95. This represents a 7.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 3,250 shares of company stock valued at $1,495,098 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $500.00 price target on Moody’s in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Moody’s in a report on Friday, July 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $610.00 price objective on the stock. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Moody’s from $524.00 to $521.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Moody’s from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $535.00 price target on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $550.58.

Moody’s News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Moody’s this week:

• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its price target on Moody’s to $600 from $530 and maintained an overweight rating, signaling confidence in the company’s earnings power and upside potential. Benzinga report on JPMorgan price target hike
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary around Q2 suggests stronger global bond issuance volumes, which could support Moody’s ratings and analytics revenue through higher investment-grade, high-yield, and structured-finance activity.
• Positive Sentiment: Several previews ahead of earnings highlight Moody’s as a financially strong company with solid growth prospects, and analysts are broadly bullish on the stock heading into the report. Article on bullish analyst views
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are waiting for Moody’s Q2 2026 earnings, with coverage focusing on whether the company can beat estimates and justify its premium valuation. Seeking Alpha earnings preview
• Neutral Sentiment: Moody’s also issued a warning on rising Indonesia risks despite the country’s 2.85% deficit target, but this looks more like a macro risk update than a company-specific catalyst. Yahoo Finance article on Indonesia risks
• Negative Sentiment: Some commentary notes that Moody’s is trading at a rich earnings multiple ahead of its report, which may weigh on the stock if results do not clearly exceed expectations. Motley Fool valuation article

About Moody’s

Moody’s Corporation is a global provider of credit ratings, research, data and analytics that support financial decision-making and transparency in capital markets. The company traces its origins to the early 20th century when financial analyst John Moody began publishing credit information; today Moody’s is headquartered in New York and serves a broad set of market participants including investors, issuers, financial institutions, corporations, governments and regulators.

Moody’s operates primarily through two complementary businesses.